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Dating should be fun! I know there’s a lot of psychological stuff, nerves, self-doubt and chaotic emotions that make dating a bit difficult from time to time (and that’s exactly what I help my clients with) so let’s at least practically do what we can to ease things up and make it fun!

The easiest way to get rid of mindfuck, self-consciousness and worry is to be engaged in the moment. But that’s royally hard to do if you’re just sitting and talking with someone. Most of us need to do something that engages us fully to get out of our heads.

This is why I am a big fan of activity dating where you do something enjoyable, fun and engaging while getting to know each other. There are so so many really reasons to do this (it changes everything for the better), so I decided to write about ten of them in a Huffington Post article.

It often hits me how unusually I think about dating and attraction. When I get a question I often flip it, because I think the opposite question is more interesting.

It’s not about finding the right person but about being the right person.

It’s not about finding out if the other person likesyou, but if they are a good fit for you and if you like them.

And its not about what all men or all women want, or what works to attract everyone, it’s about what is important for you.

Because you don’t want to be with everyone (ain’t nobody got time for that, so to speak)

Therefore it’s completely irrelevant what everyone is doing. You need to find out who you are, and who you want to meet, and then go find, and attract, that.

Many I talk to are only looking to find one person to have a relationship with. Still, they find it very troubling when they feel that the majority doesn’t match what they are looking for, or doesn’t click with them.

I know it can feel discouraging, but the truth is you only need to find the right person once (at least at a time).

And here’s the really good news: you can try an infinite number of times.

It’s not like you only have 3 chances and then you’re screwed. Nope.

You can go on a hundred bad dates, or be single for decades and then make it all work out for you beautifully.

Most people have nothing to do with your love life. You are at the core of it, and you invite whomever you like.

When talking about dating, attraction and flirting, one thing that comes up a lot is the topic of looks.

Will it help to look good? Well, this question is more complicated than it seems. Because “looking good” is a very abstract concept, and depends on who you ask. I’m not gonna talk about the eye of the beholder, rather, I want to point to the fact that looking good and thinking that you look good are two different things, and make a world of difference.

There are many objectively amazingly beautiful people who hate their looks and suffer immensely because they feel uncomfortable in their own skin. Even if other people adore their good looks, they still don’t like themselves, and that is a horrible feeling.

As I write in the title, how you feel about your looks has a lot more to do with how you feel than how you look. Liking the way you look has much more to do with how you look at, and think about, yourself, than your actual looks. It’s very strange that we seem to think that the best way to liking ourselves is through self-hatred, mistreatment and punishment. That that will somehow lead to a change that we will approve of. But what really needs to change is the disapproval. Self-hate cannot lead to self-love.

If you can’t appreciate your self, it doesn’t matter how you look. And when you can, it doesn’t matter either. Appreciation is the key, not good looks.

Start by looking yourself and others in the eyes! People are not chunks of meat, we are human beings and way too interesting and complex to be reduced to a pair of thighs or a butt. We have souls, dreams, hopes, fears, wounds, longings and deep emotions. But we can’t see that in ourselves, or in each other, when we are busy comparing or obsessing about body parts.

Start seeing yourself and other people as whole and complete persons. Explore who you and they really are, and see what happens. Your appreciation for others and yourself will grow. The beauty you will see in people will affect how you perceive them physically, and the same is true for you. You will start to connect with people for real, beyond looks and appearances. You will start to see the real beauty, and feel your own.

The reason that you can see and feel all of this beauty is because you have a body. That is the purpose of your body. To experience life, beauty and connection from the inside of it, not to judge the outside of it.

Are you navigating though the world by trying to figure out what everybody else think, like and want? It’s very common, but certainly not unproblematic. Here are a few reasons why:

1. It’s impossible. You can’t read minds, can you? Well, then you don’t know what they are thinking. All you have is your own, made up idea of what they think.

2. It’s unfair.Everybody else is a lot of people. They all think, like and want different things. And there is only one of you. It’s not a fair game to try and satisfy everybody else’s needs.

3. It’s counterproductive. The reason we so often try to adjust to other people is that we want them to like us. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but trying to be liked not the best way. Think for yourself; whom do you like and respect more? Someone who is ever-changing and trying to get everyones approval, or someone who is firmly themselves?

4. It doesn’t work. If you want people to like you, you have to be you. Otherwise there is no you there to like. Changing to be liked is therefore futile.

5. You’re looking in the wrong place. What we want from others is often what we are not giving to ourselves. Not because we can’t but because we don’t realize that we can. It is not someone else’s job to like you, it’s your job. Give to yourself what you are chasing from others.

6. It’s manipulative. By trying to make everyone like you, you are trying to control them and not letting them be who they are.

7. It’s selfish. Someone who is constantly adjusting to others may seem like they are doing it for the other person but they are doing it for themselves: “I want you to feel good around me because I can’t stand it if you don’t.”

8. It’s scary. Never knowing where you actually stand can make people uncomfortable. When you are constantly changing people can’t trust you.

9. It’s dishonest. Since it is impossible to be liked by everyone, if you try, you will be inauthentic to at least some of them. You will give them a false image of who you are, and simply not be genuine or truthful.

If you recognize yourself in the pattern of constantly changing and wanting to be liked I invite you to reflect on this question: What do I like?

Many of my clients go completely blank when I ask them this. They are so used to, and skilled at, trying to figure out what everyone else likes that they never thought about what they themselves like, want and think about things.

The first step before showing your real self to other people, is figuring out for yourself who you are.

When you go on a date with someone, or just meet a new person that seems interesting, what do you think about?

Do you make an effort to stay present, be curious and get to know that person, or do you focus more on how you come across?

I’ve seen that the second alternative is very common. It’s understandable, because when we want to make an impression we tend to get more self conscious, but it’s also unfortunate, because it stops us from actually succeeding.

You cannot meet or connect with someone when you’re stuck in you own head, trying to figure out what is going on in their head.

Still, we try.

What would actually get you where you want to go, and make the connection and impression you want, is being present in the moment where the meeting is occurring, and being more curious about that person than about what they think about you.

Here is the bottom line: you don’t go on a date to think about yourself.

You are not dating yourself, you are there to get to know someone else!
For that to be possible you must:

1. Be in the present moment.2. Put your awareness on the other person instead of on yourself.

As it happens, doing those two things will also make you less nervous and more calm, charming, confident and attractive.